Would you be upset if your child was on a "special ed" bus?

[bab]

Someone I know (who is normally extremely dramatic) was LOSING HER SHIT today because she received her son's bus assignment.  She lives in a condo development (they are really like apartments) and the development is on an EXTREMELY busy main road.  Her son is one of two children living in the development attending middle school this year (there are a lot of adults and seniors there) and it has been the policy of the district to not let buses go into the development because there is no place for a vehicle that large to safely turn around.  Normally her son's bus stop is in the parking lot of a daycare adjacent to her development.  
Anyway, this year her son is on a small bus designated for children with special needs.  She was RAGING about it.  Last year she managed to get the district to change his bus assignment stating that it is inappropriate for her son to be with all the special needs children, but this year, the woman who answered her call was not having it and told her they are not changing his bus.  She plans to go to the superintendent.  
I feel like she might be overreacting but maybe I am just more sensitive to children with special needs.  I understand that children in middle school are generally assholes and maybe her son is worried he will be made fun of.  I totally understand that.  How far would you take this?  No joke she was practically stroking out over this, ready to cry!  How would you feel if your non special ed child was placed on this bus route?  

I wasn't offended by her comments, and she kept saying, "no offense to you or anything," but I do wonder how rational people would feel in this situation.  Like I said, she has a flare for the dramatic on a daily basis so I can't tell if her reaction was normal.  

[speckledfrog]

No. TBH, I would be happy because shenanigans on the big bus scare me and the idea of him on a smaller bus with possibly more adult supervision eases that fear.

[jenny1223]

As an adult, I say NBD. But I distinctly remember kids making fun of the short bus or insulting someone by saying they would have to ride the short bus. So I get being concerned that her kid will be made fun of because of it. I'd probably request a change too if it were my kid and he was upset (only if he mentioned it). I don't know how far I'd take it though.

[styme46]

Ditto speckled. This would actually be preferable to me as opposed to a bigger bus.

[ginger]

I don't now if anyone will come forward and say, YES! I'D FREAK! honestly.

But dude, she needs to CHILL THE FUCK OUT. These are just kids who do things differently than typical children...this could be a great lesson to teach her child, but instead she's building a bigger chasm between them.


Fuck her.

[Deleted]

What exactly is she worried about? :/

I wouldn't care.

[Deleted]

It wouldn't bother me but I realize her child most likely will get made fun of for it so I can see why she is upset.

[Deleted]

It's pretty ridiculous she's upset about this.

[bab]

Aug 21, 2014 17:00:14 GMT -5 @smace said:

She is a horrible human being. I rode on a special needs bus in middle school. I was a pedestrian but they were doing sidewalk construction and I was told to ride the bus. I was happy I didn't have to walk.

she's a fucking snatchdragon and you should tell her that.

Apparently, the woman in the transportation office told her just that! (which of course, enraged her even more)

[kellykapowski]

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. There's a reason the smaller bus needs to be used. I wouldn't doubt that mom is making more of a stink about it then the kid's peers.

And why WOULD it be inappropriate? Is her kid going to "catch" the special needs? Is her kid going to be harmed by those kids in any way? What, exactly, could she mean by that for Pete's sake?

[sherbanator]

I really thought about this to make sure I wasn't just saying the PC answer but this situation would not bother me.

[Jalapeñomel]

No

[litebright]

I suppose I am biased as a mother of one kid with SN, but OMG, I probably would've gone off on her, bab. She clearly sees kids with SN as "other" and less-than and doesn't want her kid associated with them, and frankly by throwing this fit, she's teaching her kid that it's shameful and "inappropriate" for him to be around people with SN. And to say that to you and expect support??!

I hope she is NOT able to get her way. There is nothing inappropriate about her child being on a bus with kids with SN and it's a waste of resources for her preshus to ride a different bus than the other kids he goes to school with, just because his mom is an discriminatory asshole.

[bab]

Aug 21, 2014 17:02:42 GMT -5 @wandering said:

What exactly is she worried about? :/

I wouldn't care.

She feels it is inappropriate for her son to be with those children.  She also claims her son is afraid that one of the kids might have behavior issues and try to attack him.

[ginger]

Aug 21, 2014 17:08:28 GMT -5 bab said:

Aug 21, 2014 17:02:42 GMT -5 @wandering said:

What exactly is she worried about? :/

I wouldn't care.

She feels it is inappropriate for her son to be with those children.  She also claims her son is afraid that one of the kids might have behavior issues and try to attack him.

[bab]

Aug 21, 2014 17:06:20 GMT -5 @licia said:

Whaddatwat.

For real, she's demanding that her school district reroute a bus just so her preshus doesn't have to ride with special needs kids? That asshole needs to reevaluate herself.

Yes.  This is exactly what she is demanding and plans to go to the superintendent of schools.  No joke. 

[ginger]

But NO OFFENSE Y'ALL!

I had no idea I could be this upset about someone I don't even know.

[bab]

Aug 21, 2014 17:07:43 GMT -5 litebright said:

I suppose I am biased as a mother of one kid with SN, but OMG, I probably would've gone off on her, bab. She clearly sees kids with SN as "other" and less-than and doesn't want her kid associated with them, and frankly by throwing this fit, she's teaching her kid that it's shameful and "inappropriate" for him to be around people with SN. And to say that to you and expect support??!

I hope she is NOT able to get her way. There is nothing inappropriate about her child being on a bus with kids with SN and it's a waste of resources for her preshus to ride a different bus than the other kids he goes to school with, just because his mom is an discriminatory asshole.

I agree with you.  She's a co-worker so I wasn't going to make myself look crazy in the workplace by engaging.  I just tilted my head and listened...

[cherryvalance]

As an adult, I really can't see a downside. The kid is exposed to people he might not normally interact with and there usually are bus aides/one-on-ones for supervision.

As someone else said, I do remember "You ride the short bus" being an insult (and we were in a private school with no special education program, so the concept was pretty pervasive). Still, I'd see that as a teachable moment rather than demanding the district change the bus. Some important conversations and experiences could come out of this.

[bab]

She thinks her son deserves to sit on the bus with peers he can talk to and interact with "like everyone else's kids."

I never knew children with special needs are not deserving of friends and should be ignored by the "normals."

[fivechickens]

No. Regardless of how many times she says 'no offense' she is still being offensive. Fuck her.

I get kids can be assholes but they will always find something to be assholes about.

[kaybee85]

Aug 21, 2014 17:08:28 GMT -5 bab said:

Aug 21, 2014 17:02:42 GMT -5 @wandering said:

What exactly is she worried about? :/

I wouldn't care.

She feels it is inappropriate for her son to be with those children.  She also claims her son is afraid that one of the kids might have behavior issues and try to attack him.

Oh Jesus. Ridiculous.

[MrsPenny]

I think she's being an asshole. It's a ride to school. If she doesn't want him to ride the bus with sn needs then she can take him to school and pick him up.

[MixedBerryJam]

This may be a dumb question, but is it actually a bus full of sn kids, though, or just a small bus? Because I know the smaller buses used to have that connotation, but I thought that had sort of gone away and bus routes were dictated more by efficiency and money than by students' sn's. I just wonder if the mom is perpetuating an inaccurate perception. I can see being concerned about the kid being made fun of, but no one on that bus deserves that, and her overreaction adds to the possible disparagement of the kids riding that bus.

[redheadk]

She's a snatch.

Ignoring the glaring issue of her implying that kids with special needs are something to be avoided, it's a free ride to school. WTF. He's safe and getting there in a timely manner. She's not owed the bus of her choosing to accomplish this. She is welcome to get her own kid to school herself.

[craftyone]

Does she realize that her kid is class with special needs kids? Oh NO! They might have to talk to special need kids in their own classroom. The Horror.

As a mom of children where one rides the special need bus and one that does not ride the special needs bus, my eyes are rolling and my head is shaking. This is sad that people have no clue. I mean my son's buses usually had 5-6 kids all harnessed in, 1 kid per seat, and quiet, not a peep out of anyone, and usually 1 aide.

While my older son's bus has almost 3 kids per seat and loud!

[nonsensetomfoolery]

The only people who need to be picked on for riding the short bus are kids with special needs!!

Oh. Wait.

What an asshole. Her kid is going to be picked on because his mom is a bitch.

[CajunShrimp]

She is a twatwaffle.

[shell24]

Aug 21, 2014 17:08:28 GMT -5 bab said:

Aug 21, 2014 17:02:42 GMT -5 @wandering said:

What exactly is she worried about? :/

I wouldn't care.

She also claims her son is afraid that one of the kids might have behavior issues and try to attack him.

No he isn't, that's just what she's saying. Because she sucks.

[blondemoment123]

Mom is dumb. Why does it matter what bus the kid rides?


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